Blog: My Photo Adventures

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On Boxing Day I organised a mountain walk to Shepherd’s Hill in the Cairngorms, an easy ascent to a 810m summit. We were a group of 20 people, community members, foundation staff and guests. On returning to our cars through the Ryvoan Pass we took the side path through the ancient forest. I lagged behind, neglecting my position of leader of the group which should be up front, taking pictures of the many beautiful snow-covered ancient trees. It paid off: I found the time to take this picture of a gnarling old tree.

The delights of leisure after work. 8:00pm, 22nd of June, sun still high in the sky (sets at 10:20pm during those solstice days). It was the day before the British referendum, we still had hopes for the common sense of the majority of voters…

Close encounter with a Highland Cow… but I had expected something more majestic, proud and sturdy. Seen too many postcards in tourist shops, I suppose. Anyway, it was colossal enough to block our way when we returned home from Iona yesterday. It took a while before it decided to step aside to browse the grass in the verge.

We spent our wedding anniversary in London, not because we love city life, but because Eveline needed to go to the Dutch embassy for a new passport. We made the best of it, started in good spirits, survived the second full day because we went to Kew Gardens and now are greatly relieved we’re back home again. Picture taken in Turnpike Lane Underground station, close to our B&B, when we were arriving and still fresh.

Both Eveline and I had new business cards made, and we’re spreading them in public places. They’re sitting here on the windowsill of Bakehouse Cafe in Findhorn Village. Lots of other sole traders had the same idea, so our business cards are like wild flowers competing with the other wild flowers in a crammed meadow.

Walk to Bynack More, first Sunday of this month April. Again my daughter Andrea joined the walk, and although it was three times longer than the last one to Sheperd’s Hill, and much more off path, she wasn’t particularly tired at the end and enjoyed it thoroughly. This time no sunshine but a lot of mist and clouds, showing another kind of beauty of the Scottish Highlands.

Winter nights in the Park are dark. This is for a reason: street lighting is minimised to keep disturbance of night animals as low as possible. Also in East Whins, our own estate, is this principle followed: little lights at ground level are barely enough to guide us along the paths and everybody carries a torch. The picture is of blocks 1 and 2, at 6400 ASA and 1.4 sec shutter speed, camera in hand. The image looks brighter and more colourful than in reality, due to the superior sensor in my Canon SLR. I couldn’t bring myself to darken the image in Photoshop.